Water efficiency plans being drafted for the Roaring Fork River watershed could lead to more water being left in local rivers and streams. Aside from any wild cards thrown by climate change, all the towns in the Roaring Fork River valley have enough water to meet forecasted demands in 2035, especially if the individual towns actively pursue water efficiency measures.
Comment?

Ripples are spreading across the country this week from the Roaring Fork Valley as news of the loss of Kea Hause spreads. Kea was born in Hawaii and moved here to the Valley as a youngster after his parents began teaching at Colorado Rocky Mountain School.
Comment?

The snowpack in the mountains surrounding Aspen have remained free of dust this year, as this view from Tiehcack toward Pyramid Peak shows. For the first time in a decade, March hasn't blown in any storms that cover Colorado's mountains in a grimy layer of red dust that accelerates the melting of the snowpack.
Comment?

A draft water efficiency plan for the city of Aspen places a strong emphasis on the potential need for the city to develop water storage facilities, including large dams and reservoirs on both upper Castle and Maroon Creeks. At the same time, similar draft plans for Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs - prepared by the same consultants who developed Aspen's plan - lack the emphasis on storage.
Comment?

Sam Wyly has filed a bankruptcy motion asking for a judge's permission to market his Woody Creek ranch for $50 million. The 244-acre ranch has six homes and cost nearly $800,000 to run in 2014, the motion says.
Comment?

Colorado Mountain College has selected well-regarded community college administrator Richard Maestas to fill the new position of western regional vice president. The college received more than 200 applications for the position, which will oversee Aspen, Carbondale, Spring Valley, Glenwood Springs and Rifle.
Comment?

If Rifle decides to add fluoride to its water, it would join Glenwood Springs, Aspen and Snowmass Village among municipalities in Garfield and Pitkin counties. Other towns in the region do not add fluoride to their water, and dentists say they can see the difference.
Comment?

Large portions of Aspen Mountain were closed Thursday morning as ski patrollers worked hard to make the terrain safe after several days of unseasonable weather. The weather patterns and conditions on Aspen Mountain this week are "unprecedented," Aspen Skiing Co.
Comment?

Simon, whose billionaire late husband Mel Simon built Indiana-based Simon Property Group, a shopping mall enterprise, and co-owned the Indiana Pacers, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday. Simon is a major landowner in Carbondale and lists town as the headquarters of the Melvin and Bren Simon Foundation , which donated millions to a range of causes, including several hundred thousand dollars around the region in 2013, according to tax documents.
Comment?

Glenwood Springs City Council candidates Kathryn Trauger and Steve Davis are benefitting from the financial support of several movers and shakers in the local business community, while Russ Arensman has the backing of a former three-term mayor and at least one sitting council member. According to initial pre-election campaign finance disclosure reports filed Tuesday with the Glenwood Springs City Clerk's Office, Trauger and Davis are well ahead of the other candidates in the race for campaign funding.
Comment?

A county judge set a sentencing hearing April 21 for the Basalt woman responsible for a head-on collision that killed a 21-year-old college student last summer. Christine Tinner, 47, was supposed to be sentenced last week, but broke down in Friday's court hearing and was sent to the hospital.
Comment?

Glenwood Springs voters are fortunate to have good choices in the City Council election that, in effect, starts this week when ballots arrive in the mail and ends April 7, when votes will be tabulated. While incumbent Councilmen Mike Gamba and Todd Leahy are running unopposed, residents will elect two new members to the seven-member council to give it fresh perspective and, hopefully, firmer forward direction.
Comment?

JE Dunn Construction Project Manager Will Peterson points to work progressing on the Rocky Mountain Institute office and innovation center in Basalt. The project has helped generate life in the town's economy.
Comment?

Christopher Mullen Post Independent Roaring Fork School District Superintendent Diana Sirko and Chief Academic Officer Rob Stein listen to public comments during the board of education meeting to discuss Sirko's request for a three year contract extension in December. When the Roaring Fork School District board finally approved contracts with its two top administrators on March 11, there was a palpable sense of relief in the room.
Comment?

Roaring Fork Transportation Authority staff will work with Glenwood Springs and other member governments to advance certain projects that require crossing the Rio Grande corridor in a timely manner without being too burdensome, CEO Dan Blankenship said during the monthly RFTA board meeting Thursday. At the same time, the agency should seek clarification from the federal Surface Transportation Board on what exactly might constitute a severance of the inactive, but legally railbanked corridor between Glenwood Springs and Woody Creek that now serves as the Rio Grande recreational trail, he said.
Comment?

A county judge halted a sentencing hearing Thursday after the attorney for the motorist responsible for the death of an Indiana college student said her client was having serious emotional issues. But it wasn't before a multitude of friends and relatives of Meleyna Kistner's, often fighting back tears, offered endearing remarks over the course of six hours about the 21-year-old girl who was killed Aug. 21 after Basalt resident Christine Tinner crossed the center line on Highway 133.
Comment?

Sigal Weinfeld-Dory and her husband, Assaf Dory, see happier times ahead after they were selected to receive the first Habitat For Humanity house in Basalt. Assaf Dory has thought numerous times in the past that he's seen light at the end of the tunnel while battling back from the loss of a leg in the line of duty as a sheriff's deputy in Florida.
Comment?

Two presentations this week will shine some light on mental health and wellness issues and the various support services that are available in the Roaring Fork Valley and Garfield County. The first event, "Keep Calm and Talk About Mental Health," is a panel discussion inviting area professionals to share their insight and take questions from the public.
Comment?